Faded Pain
by Blacktipped Angelwings
Summary: History class really sucks when you've been part of it, and wish you hadn't. How does Jim Kirk handle an assignment on Tarsus IV when all he ever wanted was to forget? Tarsus warnings. Also, remember trekkies, this is not the same Tarsus IV as the original series. This Kodos is not a man who thought he was doing what was best.
1. Chapter 1

**Here is a story that will be 2-5 chapters, depending on you guys. Tarsus IV, non graphic in this chapter. May be more graphic in later chapters. I do not own Startrek. This is purely due to my obsession with dark fics.**

"Today we will be covering Tarsus IV. As most of you undoubtably know, it was the largest single slaughter of people in the history of the federation, with more than half of the planet's population being destroyed. It all started with a famine that struck the crops, destroying the colonists' food source. The next shipment of food was not due for another four months, and it is suspected that a freak storm had destroyed the communication lines from the planet, making it impossible for a clear signal to received. The government that had been in charge had been usurped, a new governor replacing the old named Kodos. Kodos's first order of business was to gather half of the the colonists in the main square of the town. There, he issued a proclamation." Here, the professor brought up an audio clip.

The revolution is successful, but survival depends on drastic measures. Your continued existence represents a threat to the well-being of lives means slow death to the more valued members of the colony. Therefore I have no alternative but to sentence you to death. Your execution is so ordered. Signed, Kodos, governor of Tarsus Four.

"The militia that was following Kodos had blocked off the squares exits, and fired on the still shocked crowd. they never stood a chance. Out of 4,000 colonists, one hundred survived the initial slaughter, escaping the warrant on their heads. Of those one hundred, seventy starved to death or were hunted down. Of the remaining thirty, twenty were children between the ages of three and sixteen. It is from within those twenty that the Tarsus Twelve come from. Those twelve children were caught by Kodos's men and actually brought before Kodos, where he made the decision to not kill them."

A few people in the room let out sighs of relief.

The professor frowned heavily. "This was not a kindness on the part of Kodos. He planned to make examples out of the twelve, hanging them by their wrists in the square, being whipped and beaten by the guards. Food was placed within their sight, often so close they could smell it, but they were not given food but twice a week. Starfleet arrived two weeks into this punishment, according to those who were on the list to survive. We managed to rescue all of the children, but three of them committed suicide over the years. Who knows why the Tarsus survivors names were not given out?"

Uhura raised a shaking hand. "To protect them, since Kodos was never found. Starfleet wanted to ensure they did not become targets."

"That is correct, at least partially. It was also to allow those children to grow up without having Tarsus IV run their lives. Each of you will write a journal about someone on that planet at the time, whether it be one of the dead, one of the twelve, one of the guards, Kodos, or one of the people chosen to live. I warn you now, this is a very serious assignment, and if you make light of it, you will fail my class and your other professors will be informed."

The class gulped, each silently vowing to be very careful with the assignment.

***

Kirk left the class, shaking slightly. Tarsus IV was a nightmare far any that were truly connected to it, and no one, not even the Tarsus Twelve were as connected to it as him.

He was tempted to forgo the entire assignment, risk failing the course, in order to avoid having to think back on the terrible things that had happened.

His aspirations to become captain rejected this. He had survived Tarsus, and he could handle writing a journal about it. He took out his PADD and began writing.

**Review please. Tell me who you'd like to hear details, or if you want him to have flashbacks. It won't be next chapter, but the one after that. Next chapter you get to read his assignment.**

**Pleas review! **


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Star Trek. Enjoy. Here is Kirk's PG version of Tarsus. Whether I go into darker details depends on you. Please help guide this story...**

His aspirations to become captain rejected this. He had survived Tarsus, and he could handle writing a journal about it. He took out his PADD and began writing.

_I came to Tarsus IV after my mother had had to go off planet. I was staying with my aunt, uncle, and brother. I had loved it from the moment I arrived. My aunt and uncle cared for me, school was challenging for the first time, and I felt safe for the first time I could remember._

_I was seven when things changed. I had been at school, in a high school level class that my aptitude scores had just placed me in when a gun went off in my class. My classmates were mowed down, and I kept waiting for the ancient weapon to take my life as well, but it didn't happen. Instead I was grabbed by someone._

_The next thing I knew, I was in an expensive looking room and a man was watching me. He introduced himself as Kodos. He told me that I had intrigued him with my science project, and he needed my help- the help of a seven year old. I asked him what had happened to the others, and he made a pain faced, telling me that someone had killed them, and he had rescued me._

_I asked to go home._

_He told me my family had been in the building at the time, and had been killed. I believed him, and did as he asked for a few weeks, doing experiments with him. I didn't know that three years from then, he would kill so many people. About a week into my imprisonment, I was left alone and hacked into the computer. That's how I found out that everything I had been told was a lie. Kodos caught me trying to escape, and after that, I spent my time in chains, doing research, being researched, or being tortured for not doing what I was told. _

_I escaped one day after I found out Kodos planned to kill all those people. It was my fourth successful escape, but the first that I had actually made it away from my prison. I arrived just in time to see the massacre start. I saw them die, and I ran into the square, knocking out two of the militia men with a tazer I had stolen. I saw two children sobbing on the ground next to dead people. I grabbed them and ran to an old cave that Sam and I used to play in. It was well hidden, so I figured it would be safe._

_One of the kids was thirteen, three years older than me, with dark hair and blue eyes, red from crying. The other was six, with dark hair and dark eyes. I led them to the cave, and was shocked to find six other people already in it. I realized they were all kids too, the oldest of which was thirteen, like the boy I had with me. _

_"Who are you?" the oldest boy had demanded, sounding scared._

_I didn't answer, but ran at the older boy, wrapping my arms around him. "Sam!"_

_It was my brother. I couldn't believe it. He was still alive. I stayed like that for a while, until I remembered that there might be other survivors. I pulled away from Sam, who was crying and tore out of the cave. _

_Over the next three days I came and went from the cave, bringing back twenty more children with Sam's help, bringing the total to thirty. After that, we couldn't find any more children and so we stopped looking, concentrating on how to keep us all alive. _

_Eventually, we were so desperate for food, that I did the only thing I could- I snuck out, and returned to my prison, and stole food from the cellars, where I knew Kodos kept it. It took me four days to get back, and by then two of the kids had died. Their names were Sara and Terry, and both were nine. _

_Those of us who were older than ten made fake names, as per my suggestion. I didn't tell them it was because if someone mentioned my name, even by accident, Kodos would hurt them very badly. Five weeks and three food raids later, our luck ran out. We were attacked. eight of us, including the four kids under the age of six escaped. Seven more were killed trying to protect them. Thirteen of us were captured._

_The rest is known. The Tarsus Twelve became famous after they met Kodos and were tortured by him. I was not among the twelve, as you have probably gathered. I wasn't rescued by Starfleet, who stopped looking after they thought they had accounted for everyone. I was found by a group of Betaziods who had passed by the planet and sensed my mind somehow. They brought me back to their planet and rehabilitated me. They taught me how to channel my emotions into a better form and then returned me to Earth. It had been another three months and in that time, Sam had not spoken once, so no one even knew that I was alive. The other kids had not remembered my real name._

_I realized something that day that I hadn't realized before- I was not a Tarsus survivor, for I had not survived. I was not the six year old who had first stepped onto that planet. I doubt there were any survivors in the Tarsus Twelve. I knew far a fact that Sam and I hadn't. _

_Starfleet had failed us._

**Please review- tell me what you thought, and what direction you want the story to go. Please. Help is needed, otherwise I'm just going to have to have Bones try to keep Kirk from panicking at everything or something.**

**Help?!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Star Trek. If I did, there'd hopefully be another series based on Star Trek 2009.**

**Anyway, here it is. Thanks for all the reviews.**

He turned it in the next class, listening to the toned down stories from Tarsus that hadn't been at risk of dying. It was all about the people had lost family to the massacre and how they coped and what the food was like.

To Jim, it was all a lie. He left the class feeling angry and worn out. All he wanted to do was close his eyes. He hadn't slept in two days because every time he closed his eyes he could see Tarsus. He saw Kodos flash passed his eyes with each blink.

He went to his next few classes, when he and the rest of the students were called down to a mandatory assembly. Jim filed into his seat next to Bones, his exhaustion starting to catch up with him.

"We are here to evaluate whether one of our students should be allowed to continue in Starfleet after a flagrant sign of disrespect to the Tarsus survivors."

Jim felt his anger rise. Who dared to disrespect his kids? When he got a hold of them...

"Cadet Kirk, please step forward."

Jim's eyes widened in disbelief. "You can't be serious."

The admiral gave him a harsh look. "Your professor stated that you blatantly created a character in order to steal attention from the Tarsus Twelve, as well as insulting Starfleet."

Jim stood up and walked up to the podium. "People who don't know the real history of Tarsus shouldn't be writing the paper in the first place. that is insulting to the survivors."

"And that is your excuse?" Jim's professor stood. "You insulted those people because you didn't like the assignment?"

It was too much for Jim, who's nerves were frayed from lack of sleep. "I was there, you ass. I watched as seven children were gunned down and I buried two others. Don't stand there and tell me it didn't happen!" He was breathing heavily with anger. "I watched them torture my brother and those other kids. They didn't stand a chance!"

"You are claiming that your paper is true?"

"Yes."

"You are claiming to know Kodos personally."

"Yes."

They expressed their doubt, but Pike didn't want to see Jim lose his dream. "Let the boy tell his story. If we still don't think the paper is true, he shall be expelled."

All the admirals in attendance nodded reluctantly. "Fine. Kirk, talk."

Jim stared at him. "You want me to do what? It was hard enough writing it down."

"If you won't speak, then you are hereby expe-"

"Wait!" Jim stopped him desperately. "I- I can't tell you everything, but I'll try to tell you what I can." He paused, taking a deep breath. He figured starting at the beginning was a good idea. "My mother remarried after the Kelvin was destroyed. Sam and I grew up mainly with Frank, my stepfather, because Winona was always off world. frank didn't like Sam and I, and one year, when I was six, and Sam was ten, we were shipped off to Tarsus. Winona didn't know. She was on a seven year off world trip, where communications were rarely allowed, and even more rarely received."

He launched into the story, not skipping any of the crucial details.

**(The rest of the Tarsus scenes will be in italics, and more like a story than a retelling, but it is a retelling)**

_I stepped off the shuttle onto the planet's surface, my small bag slung over my shoulder. Sam was beside me, a slightly bigger bag over his own shoulder. We looked around for some clue as to where to go. Sam spotted something, and grabbed my arm, tugging me towards an older couple. _

_They smiled at us. "James, Sam, how are you?"_

_"Good, Aunt Lisa. Jim's a bit tired though."_

_"Come on. Let's get you settled. I'll show you around tomorrow. I think you'll like it here."_

_And I did. Everything was peaceful. Aunt Lisa and Uncle Gremer loved us, and over tome, we grew to love them as well._

_By the second week of school, though, my teachers knew that I couldn't have class with the kids my age. they had me take a placement test, and weren't they surprised when I posted into their high school classes. Even then, the content wasn't difficult, just the essays. I won the science fair that year with an experiment on how regular household goods could be dismantled and used to make a shuttle engine capable of going from one end of the Tarsus solar system to the other._

_It got me noticed by Kodos, and two weeks later, my class was murdered with the exception of me._

At this point, the listeners in the hall burst out into exclamations, cutting Jim off as he prepared to detail his imprisonment. Honestly, he was thankful for the interruption. It gave him a chance to collect himself. He really had no idea how to tell them about the next three years of his life. He wished he didn't have to do it so publicly.

"Silence!" Pike ordered. "Kirk, you said this was about a year after your arrival, making you about seven?"

Jim nodded.

"But the famine didn't even occur until you were ten."

**What did you think of the formatting? Did it work, or should I do it differently. For those of you who gave me ideas, I hope most of you feel like I've definitely taken them into account. **

**Review, or I'll put you in one of my stories (which means your life will be terrible). Feel threatened. Just kidding- but please review. I'm not sure I can say that enough.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Star Trek. I wish. **

**Recap:**

_"Silence!" Pike ordered. "Kirk, you said this was about a year after your arrival, making you about seven?"_

_Jim nodded._

_"But the famine didn't occur until you were ten."_

**On to the Chapter:**

"I am well aware of that. I spent the next three years with Kodos."

"What did he want with you? And what of your brother?"

"I was informed that my family had been in the building at the time of the shooting, and that they had been killed. It took me a few days to find out that was a lie. Until then I was complacent."

_"Mr. Kodos, you said I could go into the lab today. Can I? Please?" I wanted something to distract me._

_"Yes child, come. See here? You can work as much as you'd like. Do you want to know what our first project is?" I nodded. "We are going to work on making nanonites that can repair arteries non invasively."_

_I frowned. "Nanonites haven't been used in a hundred years. No one could get them to work properly."_

_"But they didn't have you. I'll be back in a few minutes." The flattery was laid on a bit to thickly, and I recognized it as such, so when he left I hacked into the computer and searched my family's name. They were alive, but there was a death certificate for me. Vaporization from a plasma weapon was listed as the cause of death. I knew then that I had to escape. _

_I ran out of the lab, in the opposite direction I had entered from. There were no exits that way. I was caught well before I found an exit. A guard shot me with an old fashioned projectile weapon, hitting me in the shoulder-_

The story was once again cut off, this time by Bones. "You were shot with a projectile weapon? That's not in your file. I've never seen it, either."

Jim glared at his friend. "Really? This isn't hard enough already?" It actually hurt that his friend seemed so skepticle, but he knew it was the man's nature.

"Do show us proof, Cadet Kirk."

With a frustrated scowl, Jim took his shirt off, revealing-

Nothing. There were no scars to be seen, his skin was unblemished. Before anyone could comment though, Jim unclipped a small necklace, and suddenly the unblemished skin was covered in scars of all types. He pointed out a round one on his shoulder. "This one is from that particular day. Is this proof enough not to expel me or fail me?"

Jim hated taking off the necklace that he had created to disguise his injuries, and to do so in a public setting was even worse. He was definitely going to a bar after this and getting shit faced. Maybe then this entire situation would cease to exist, at least for a bit.

"Kirk-" an admiral started.

"Admiral, I would like to speak." A boy about two years older than Jim stood. He was staring at Jim with a calculating look. "I have a few questions that can answer whether this is true or not."

The admiral looked highly doubtful, but allowed it. This entire situation was abnormal, so why not allow for more proof?

"Kirk, you claim to have been involved with the Tarsus Twelve. If you are who I think you are, tell me your brother's name."

"All the kids called him Sky. His real name was Sam," Jim answered tonelessly. The cadet looked familiar, but Jim couldn't quite place it.

The boy nodded, his face guarded. "How many days were you gone getting food?"

"Total, or on the first run?" _And why am I helping you interrogate me?_

"Total."

"I couldn't honestly tell you. I was unconscious for parts of it, but I'd approximate thirteen days." _Thirteen days I'd have preferred to be unconscious for._

"Last question." The cadet's features hardened angrily. "Where the hell did you go, JT! We thought you were dead! Sky couldn't talk for months because he was so distraught." Before Jim could react, the boy punched him in the jaw. "We thought you fucking died."

It clicked then. "Tom?" Jim held his jaw. "Damn, I don't remember you hitting that hard."

Tom sneered. "I was twelve. Of course I didn't hit this hard, plus when did I ever hit you when we were there?"

"Ummm, when I was sneaking back into camp while you were on duty?"

Tom laughed suddenly. "Oh, yeah! I knocked you out. Sky nearly killed me!"

"Glad you got something to laugh at out of that," Jim muttered sarcastically. He guessed there really were things that even after such horror, there could still be humor, and even in anger those things came first.

"What the hell is going on here?" Pike cut them off.

Tom gave him a dry look. "I'm one of the Tarsus Twelve. Since JT's revealed, there's no real reason to stay quiet about it anymore. He's the main person at risk if any of this gets out."

"How do we know you are not in on this?"

"File 4429556, code LL3GT5543B."

One of the admirals pulled up the file.

**After this chapter, things get a bit graphic, but since it's not really feasible for Jim to be able to get through this on his own, I'm giving him a bit of help.** **This chapter's kind of weak, but I'm taking midterms right now, so this is what I can post right now. The next chapter is much more in depth...  
**

**Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own Star Trek. Any problems with that?**

**Chapter 5**

The room was silent as the admiral scanned through the file. He read for twenty minutes, during which conversation began to pick up. Jim, however, had his gave fixed on Tom. "Did any of you stay in contact?"

Tom shrugged, looking sad.

"At first, no. We all just wanted to forget about Tarsus, but the last couple years that's changed. Four or five of us get together and we talk about all the stuff no one else can understand. We don't speak in Common, though. We only speak in-"

"Volcan?"

Tom smiled slightly. "Considering how little time there was for you to teach us, we still are all able to speak in it. I checked."

"Why'd you join Starfleet?"

"Why did you?"

"I was dared."

Tom gave a small start. "Not the answer I was expecting, but okay, that seems like what I remember of you. I joined to make sure that Tarsus IV could never happen again. I'm training to be a communication officer."

Jim gave him an appraising look. "When I'm captain, I'll look you up. You as good as Uhura? She's a language expert."

Tom actually grinned. "I know thirty-six languages. When you taught us Volcan, I already knew five. Hoshi was my next door neighbor on Tarsus." He sobered. "She made it, you know. Apparently she got a group out of dodge that day and kept them alive like you and Sky did."

"Sam. His name's Sam, not Sky. How are you so calm, talking about this stuff?"

Tom shifted. "We talked to each other about what happened. We talked over everything so many times that it was no longer scary."

"I don't think I could talk about what happened."

"What are you doing right now?"

"Truthfully? I'm breezing over the highlights, and ignoring the details as much as possible. They get the same story Sam got that first night- in other words nothing other than my life sucked beyond belief. They don't get the story you got. You are the only one who will ever know about that."

Tom gave Jim a tight hug. "Once you're done with your captivity, I can take over for a bit. They'll get the story you fed Sk- Sam as well, kay?"

Jim smiled gratefully. "You're a good friend." His words were in Volcan.

The admiral finished reading a few minutes later. "Thomas Lauding, we apologize for our accusations. If you would like to return to your seat?"

"You are still going to make him continue?" Tom had known they would, but it still seemed cruel.

"Everyone rescued from that planet was required to explain what happened to them on the planet. James Kirk is not exempt from that, even if it was overdue."

"I will stay where I am, thanks. Jim has not had the same opportunities as the Twelve to get counseling. Making him relive it in this fashion is detrimental to his mental health."

"Fine. Kirk, get on with it."

Jim felt a flash of anger at their callousness, but spoke. They wouldn't leave him alone until it was done anyway.

_I was caught. The pain was too much, and I knew if I tried to escape I'd end up dying of blood loss. The guard pinned me to the wall as Kodos arrived._

_"James, what is going on here?"_

_"Everyone thinks I'm dead! They held a funeral for me!" My vision was flashing from the combination of blood loss and anger, but I didn't care. "You lied. I hate you!"_

_Kodos's face hardened. "Is that truly how you feel James? You hate me? You do not know the meaning of hatred. I think that is where I will begin your lessons. I will show you what hatred really is." He glanced at the guard. "Take care of his shoulder and place him in the basement, in the cell I had created."_

Jim's voice cracked as he mentioned the cell. The pain associated with the little room was immeasurable. "I will not share the rest of this with a group of unvetted cadets. If you want to hear more, they must leave."

The admirals dismissed the cadets immediately, and as soon as they had filed out Jim lashed out verbally. "What the hell is wrong with you? None of the survivors were ever treated like this. Trust me. I've heard their testimonies. Sam, after all, had access to the file, and I was just as entitled to it as any of the others. You all claim that you had conclusive evidence that Kodos was dead, but it's a lie, and you know it! The reports prove it, and yet you put my life in danger in order to satisfy your damn curiosity."

Pike, who had remained despite not being an admiral spoke up. "I do not think that is the intent of this, Cadet. It is important, especially since you spent so much time with Kodos."

Jim took a deep breath. "You have no idea what you are asking for. I can't give you what you want. I will tell you about the first time he tortured me, and about when I discovered Kodos's plan, and then Tom has said he could handle the story from there." He didn't give them time to respond.

_They healed the surface of my shoulder to keep me from bleeding out before throwing me into a room that was more like a vault than a cell. There was no light in the cell, but with the door open, light filtered in enough to reveal a pair of shackles hanging form the wall. The guard had to lift me slightly for my wrists to reach, because I was so small and they were designed so that adults would only be able to touch their toes to the ground. _

_It was an hour later, when my arms had begun to ache relentlessly, that he came in with a wire, about a centimeter thick. It wasn't stiff, but pliable, and before I had time to understand what he was going to do, he swung it at me, striking across my stomach. Oddly, my first response wasn't of pain, but an analysis of the flaws in the wire. It wasn't well fused, with little bits of metal. The second hit brought home what was happening as the wire sliced through my skin. I screamed as it fell again and again, until he suddenly put it down. _

_"Now, James, how did that make you feel?" he whispered in my ear._

_I tried to kick him. I wanted to make him hurt at least a fraction of how I hurt. "I hate you," I gasped out. My throat was too raw for anything more._

_"I'm not convinced that you do, James. I am not convinced." He removed my shirt and took a knife out of a sheath on his belt. He began tracing patterns on my arms, acting as though he were creating art instead of cutting me open. I struggled against the chains, but every movement hurt. Every time I struggled, it pulled on the lashes on my stomach and chest. _

_He did one last thing that night before he went to sleep: He rubbed salt into each weeping wound, and left me to scream and writhe while he slept remorselessly. I was still awake the next morning because of the pain when he came to ask me again. I couldn't answer. He left me alone the rest of the day._

_It took me a full year and six escape attempts to convince him I hated him, and it only took three words. "I will kill you." He just told me I passed and locked me in a sealed lab with several guards posted on the door and a list of projects that I was to complete. If I didn't get a certain amount done, I didn't get food and water, and I was tortured. Two years after that, the number of guards Kodos had posted on me decreased from six to two. I had significant experience fighting by then, as it was yet another way to earn food, so I knocked them both out. I hacked into the computer system quickly and easily and accessed Kodos's own files, where I found the kill orders. _

_Sam, Aunt Lisa, and Uncle Gremer were all on the list. I hacked the door to get it to open, grabbed the two guns that the guards carried with them, and ran for town. For the first time, there were no guards to get in my way. I found out why when I got to the square. The soldiers had already begun firing, and all the exits were blocked. I shot down two of the guards that were blocking the alley I was in. I saw two kids, one older than me, and one younger than me. I grabbed their hands during a brief point of time when we were shielded from most of the guards, and we ran. _

Jim stopped. That was as much as he would share right now. His head was spinning, and he was close to a panic attack as he heard the sounds of the rifles in his mind. He saw his aunt fall to one of the gunmen just before he had grabbed the two children. He hadn't been able to find Sam or Uncle Gremer in the crowd. He had gotten through what he needed to, but now his memories were taking over him, and darkness began to engulf his sight. He surrendered to the blackness, welcoming the escape from his memory.

Tom caught him as he collapsed, his eyes boring holes in the admirals' heads.

**AN: I need more reviews guys! I feed off of them! I need at least five reviews before I update again.**

**Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not Own Star Trek. You'd never guess, right?  
**

**Chap 6**

Bones went over to Jim and checked his vitals, finally announcing that Jim was going to be fine

Tom was not pleased by the turn of events. He knew this was going to be hard on the kid, but passing out? That didn't seem like JT at all, but then again, no one knew what happened to him after they had been captured. JT had been immediately separated from the rest of the Twelve, although for the first twenty-four hours they had listened to his screams before they were paraded into the square.

Still, he knew he should save JT from this part, since he could.

_We were all told to come to the square to hear something, though when my parents told me what it was, I didn't pay attention. Apparently, Kodos had told everyone that he would be conducting the meeting in two parts, and that attendance was mandatory for everyone, including children. The square was packed full of people, and we were about ten people from the edge, which was likely why I survived. Once we were all there, Kodos issued his proclamation, and gunfire broke out. We looked for a way out as more people were mowed down, but all the exits to the square were lined with the militia group. I remember my dad shoving me to the side roughly, taking the bullet that I am sure was meant for me. He went down, and my mom screamed. In the next moment she was hit too, but she wasn't dead. They had shot her in the stomach. I fell to the ground next to her, not even hearing the screams around me anymore. I put pressure on the wound, trying to stop the blood. There was nothing I could do to help her._

_Suddenly someone grabbed my hand, and yanked me away from my mom, who had at this point passed out and her breathing had become erratic. I let the person drag me to my feet, and ran at their urging, not even noticing who was with me or where I was. All that mattered was that my mom and dad lay dead somewhere behind me. It wasn't until we got to the cave that I noticed anything, and then the first thing I noticed was the bloodstains on his clothes. _

_He still had me and a younger boy holding his hand as he went into the cave. Inside was a boy armed with a knife. "Stop. Who are you?"_

_The boy holding my hand dropped it. He said something too hoarsely for me to understand in my still dazed state. He embraced the other boy who had dropped the knife with a clatter. The one with a knife pulled the boy down to the ground, and just whispered to the younger. Fifteen minutes later, the younger one stood sharply and ran out of the cave with no warning, ignoring the other's desperate calls. _

_He made to go after him, but was stopped when one of the youngest kids started sobbing. He stopped and knelt down beside the little girl. "What's your name?"_

_"Lexa," the girl cried. "Want Mommy. Loud noises scary.' _

_Sky, or Sam- whatever his name is- looked at me. "It'll be okay Lexa. Give me a second okay? I promise I won't go far." He pulled me out of the cave. "What happened? We came here because a couple of the parents thought something was going on. We heard gunshots."_

_"They killed them all. They're all dead. Mom and Dad, Miss Eliza-"_

_Sky's voice cracked. "They're all dead?"_

_"That boy saved me and that other little boy. I think he lived a few blocks away from me. Kyle or something."_

_"That boy is my brother. He was supposed to have died three years ago. I just hope he's okay."_

_We went back into the cave where Sky started giving orders and comforting the kids at the same time. It was really quite the feat. It was two hours before the JT, who I'm sure you all realize by now is the one who saved me, returned with four more kids and a sack full of food. Before Sky could even talk to him, JT ordered him to call him JT, and to give everyone fake names if they were old enough to be perceived as a threat. Then he was gone again. For three days he brought back more kids and food until there were thirty of us. _

_Then he went out again, staying away for a full day. He didn't come back with any more kids. Sky found him a few hours later collapsed at the bottom of the hill. We carried him into the cave and stripped off his shirt. The amount of scarring was disturbing, and Sam ended up getting sick from the sight. His open wounds were treated by a dermal regenerator that Sam had. Their uncle had been a doctor. For another week JT was violently ill and kept apart from the rest of the kids. when ever he woke up, he would tell us to ration the food as much as possible, and Sky heeded this. When his fever went down, JT told all of us over the age of twelve what Kodos had done. _

_"I've been his prisoner for three years. I noticed the number of guards in the compound were much lower than usual, so I hacked his files. I found his plans, and I knocked at the guards in my room and made my way to the square and rescued you," he pointed at me, "and another little boy. Kodos likes experiments. According to the notes I found, this is all part of a social experiment. He's the reason the crops failed and he has blocked all communications off world."_

_"What about Mo-" Sky tried to ask something._

_"All communications have been shut down, Sky. The only way to get the message out is from the heart of Kodos's compound, and trust me when I say that's next to impossible. There are too many guards, and getting hit by one of those projectile weapons hurts terribly."_

_"You were shot?!" Sky was so scared, it was almost funny._

_JT just brushed it off. "I was seven. It was a long time ago. My first escape attempt didn't end very well. He's a weird guy, you know. Wouldn't let me out of my cell until I told him I'd kill him." He shook his head in confusion, but continued. "If we are going to survive this, we need to make the food last, because the next shipment isn't due for six months. The food I brought back is not going to last us more than two months, and that's only if people get the bare minimum they need to survive. The other thing is we all need to set watches. If guards come, we need to have the time to get everyone out."_

_"You're just a little kid!" a thirteen year old girl cut in. "What would you know about surviving? Even as a prisoner, you still didn't have worry about food."_

_I'll never forget the look on his face. It was both blank and expressively angry at the same time, and it gave new meaning to 'if looks could kill.' He looked he was six times his age in that moment._

_And his words... I'll never forget them, especially after I learned what they meant..._

**And that's all you're getting from me today! I hope you liked it. Sorry it's late. School sucks.  
**

**Review.**


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